Where we’re going, we don’t need blast processing
We’ve all seen theAngry Video Game Nerdepisodewhere he compares the SNES with the Sega Genesis and mocks the “blast processing” thrust of the Genesis’ marketing campaign. It seems silly now to think that slapping a vague buzzword on technical specs could push people to buy the console, but hey, enough of us playedStreets of RageandSonic 3that it must have worked.
Flashy adverts have been a mainstay of the video game industry for a couple of decades, now. Some of them bore into our brains because they are fun, or exciting, or perhaps even make the soft-hearted among us cry. Sniff. So what are some adverts, i.e. TV ads or YouTube trailers, that I dug up during my research? Ones that I remember from back in the day, perhaps, and that struck a chord with me? Get your box of Kleenex at the ready while I show you my faves.
- The “new generation” trailer,The Sims 2(2003)
I was beyond stoked whenThe Sims 2was released, because I played the originalSimsto almost obsessive levels when I was a tweenager. I used to read the soap-opera style diaries other players uploaded to the Maxis homepage – I can still remember the Vanderbilt ones – and I tried to construct intricate backstories for all of my own families. When I learned that Mortimer Goth and his dear daughter Cassandra would be in the next version ofThe Sims, just not quite as I knew them, I was even more ready to make the upgrade.
Oh, by the way, if you didn’t make Mortimer live forever to bring home the bacon, you were running the Goth household wrong inThe Sims 2. There, I said it, I’m a monstrous Sim God. Next.
- TheDead Islandannouncement trailer (2011)
This one, you guys! This trailer came out when I was listening toTalkRadarand other early video game podcasts more than I was actually playing games myself, and all the talk ofDead Islandwas extremely positive after this advert. I still can’t watch it without tearing up; it’s a masterfully executed work of art that won awards for good reason.
It’s just a shame that the game itself didn’t run with the emotional family storyline it put forward in its announcement trailer. Starting the game with“Who Do You Voodoo”made it clear that it wasn’t going to be a schmaltzy family story, for better or for worse. Thankfully, many other franchises already provide us with that experience, including theEvil Withinfranchise, further down in this list.
- TheGears of Wartrailer (2006)
It’s the law that if you slap Gary Jules’ cover of the Tears for Fears song “Mad World” over the top of anything, it gets all existential and gloomy. TheGears of Warfranchise has a bit of a bad reputation for being all guns, hulking monsters and no heart, but you wouldn’t get that impression from this advert. It paints a picture of isolation and loneliness in a destroyed world that, sure, is getting put back together by men with biceps biggest than my entire head, but is tinged with sadness. Rewatching this ad actually makes me want to buy a second-hand Xbox 360 and see what I missed.
4.The Evil Withintrailer (2014)
Time for a short-but-sweet one. Can we just ban Debussy’s “Clair De Lune” from, like, everything? Not because it’s a bad track…no no no. But because like those Christmas ads from a couple of years ago that were flooded withpugsand morepugs, I am going to buy your shit if you include it. It feels like a cheap move. You know my Achilles heel, marketeers!
Yet “Clair de Lune” is in the ad because this is the save room music. In fact, the game uses another classical tune to add atmosphere in the intro, Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Air on the G String”, so it isn’t a grab for attention, but rather an accurate depiction of the game. It lends this creepier edge to the game and pays homage to other survival horror games that have made use of classical music, such as the originalResident Evilgame (which has you play a wonky rendition of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”). And given that Shinji Mikami was behindThe Evil Within, it couldn’t be more apt.
5. TheSuper Mario Odysseytrailer (2017)
As I discussed in the communal piece on games that resurrected franchises that is going up today,Mariogames need to make a bold statement. Nintendo has built most of its business model around just one or two series, so when new games in those series do come out, it’s essential that the adverts have the wow factor. The advert forSuper Mario Odysseydefinitely does, whether it’s panning over the vast landscapes, Mario’s fun little interactions with Cappy or Pauline’s jazzy showtune. I still thinkSuper Mario Galaxyis the ultimate showstopper Mario game, and don’t quite know how it could ever be topped, but the ad forSuper Mario Odysseydoes a lot to convince me to finally get a Switch.
- “The Replacer”,Call of Duty: Black Ops 2(2013)
Since he played the twisted Dr Hill inUntil Dawn, I’ve had a bit of a fascination with Peter Stormare. Those uncanny valley facial expressions seemed not to be down to poor modelling work, but more to do with his raw acting ability in conveying a demented, hallucinogenic version of Josh Washington’s psychiatrist. When I unearthed the “Replacer” ads for theCall of Dutyseries, in which Peter Stormare offers to take over menial tasks such as, oh, I don’t know, taking your wife to hospital when she goes into labour, I thought they were the funniest bit of marketing I’d seen in quite a while.
I want Peter Stormare shrieking at IKEA furniture in every single game now, please. Wouldn’t he be great voicing an oddball teacher in aPersonagame? Wouldn’t he be a cool baddie in a newLittleBigPlanetinstalment, picking up the mantle fromHugh Laurie? Can he get roped in to play a Slig inOddworld: Soulstorm? The possibilities are endless.
Do you have a favourite video game advert/trailer? Which adverts do you remember from your childhood, or other significant times in your life? Let me know in the comments down below!
